The results from the 21,000-person study, known as PEGASUS, were released a year after the study started. According to AstraZeneca, patients who took Brilinta and aspirin more than a year from their heart attack were less inclined to have additional heart problems than patients who took aspirin and a placebo.
“After a heart attack, patients remain at significant risk of another heart attack or major adverse cardiovascular event. PEGASUS will study treatment beyond twelve months after a heart attack, with dual antiplatelet therapy of ticagrelor and aspirin. We are very excited to be addressing this important scientific question,” noted Dr. Marc S. Sabatine, a cardiologist and Principal Investigator of the PEGASUS, Vice Chair of the TIMI Study Group.
The news boosted AstraZeneca shares by 1.5 percent and the production and sale of Brilinta has been predicted to generate sales of $3.5 billion per year for the pharmaceutical company. The prediction was made by AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot after fighting off a $118 billion takeover bid by Pfizer in 2014.
However, blood thinners are notoriously dangerous substances with a myriad of side-effects. For example, Paradaxa side effects, another leading blood thinner, have been indicated to cause internal bleeding, ulcers, cerebral haemorrhaging.
This has led to many lawsuits, related to blood thinners, which has made this a difficult market for any new entrant. This has also led to the growth of legal services dealing specifically with this issue.
Brilinta has struggled to compete with established blood thinners like Plavix and Effient. The study was set up to show that Brilinta had uses beyond being used for acute coronary syndrome or recent attacks.
Tom Keith-Roach, vice president for Brilinta, told Reuters that sales of the drug should strengthen through 2015 and approval to expand into a wider market should occur over the next 18 months.
“This is very important news for the franchise,” Keith-Roach said.
Although share price increased with the news, Citigroup analysts expect a much stronger reaction on financial markets when the trail data is presented at the ACC in March and AHA in November. The successful trial is expected to at least double sales, from a current $500 million per year to $1.3 billion per year, by 2018.
